His comments came as one EU source indicated that the EU remains on course to decide on lifting the ban in the next few months, despite a controversial new Chinese law passed this week threatening military action on Taiwan.

"China is opposed to anything like political discrimination as demonstrated in the arms embargo and so forth," said the Chinese minister, who is due to meet with EU officials Thursday including foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

The European Union has indicated it is moving towards lifting the arms ban, slapped on Beijing after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, in principle before the end of the current Luxembourg EU presidency in June.

But the issue has been clouded by the adoption this week by Chinese lawmakers of an anti-secession law authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves towards independence.

EU diplomats have been tightlipped about how the anti-secession law could affect the EU plans.

On Tuesday one official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Beijing law could negatively influence the lifting the arms ban, at least the timing of such a move.

"What clearly would really change the weather around the arms embargo would be any act that changed the equilibrium between China and Taiwan," she said.

But on Wednesday another EU source indicated that the EU remains on track to come to a decision by June.

"What is going to be done is being discussed internally," he said, but reiterated "Our objective is to be able to reach a conclusion during this semester."

A group of EU states, spearheaded by French President Jacques Chirac, argues that the EU ban is outdated given the political changes over the last decade and a half.

Critics allege that those pushing for the ban to be lifted are appeasing China in the hope of securing trade and political benefits from the emerging global economic titan.

But the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, insists that lifting the ban should have no direct impact on the quantity or type of weapons sold by European firms to China.

"It has never been our intention that the lifting of the arms embargo should lead to an increase in arms (sales to China) quantitatively or qualitatively," said the EU official Tuesday.

The Europeans plan to compensate for the lifting of the arms ban by beefing up a self-imposed code of conduct, designed to prevent the sale of certain types of weapons or technology which could be used for non-defensive purposes.

The Chinese minister, who arrived in Brussels late Tuesday, made no more comments on the EU ban after talks with his Belgian counterpart Karel De Gucht on Wednesday.

But the Belgian minister said his country hoped "that we can come to an early decision and we will continue to work towards a solution that is acceptable for both parties" on the arms ban.

De Gucht also seemed to downplay the significance of the Chinese anti-secession law, which he said was a "political signal", but not a "change of position" by Beijing.

Reaffirming Belgium's support for a one-China policy, he added: "We hope that they will be able to reach a negotiated solution."

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